Lara Croft creator has left Crystal Dynamics

Now working as an independent consultant.

Tony Gard, creator of iconic video game heroin Lara Croft, has left Crystal Dynamics, according to his LinkedIn page.

Gard had been working at the California-based Crystal Dynamics, leading a design group on an unannounced project.

"Obviously it’s confidential what goes on at Crystal Dynamics, but the situation is that I’m no longer working with them, and I’ve started up my own consultancy business," Gard told develop.

Following the creation of the first Tomb Raider game, Gard left Crystal Dynamics to form Bristol-based development studio Confounding Factor. After a troubled development, the studio's one and only game, Galleon, was released for Xbox in 2004.

Gard then returned to Eidos as consultant on the Tomb Raider franchise and rejoined Crystal Dynamics full time in 2007.